Need a friendly, small, fry eating(sorry) Catfish

[jmccalip]

I'm getting over run by fry, and I need a small peacefull catfish that will....eat them...

My 55g tank currenlty has:

4 Mollies
5 platies
2 plecos
1 golden gourami

My PH is 8.2 btw.

here's a pic of it:

Thanks

 

[smithrc]

A couple of pictus would solve that problem.

 

[CFC]

Full grown pictus may also eat the platties but as far as community safe predatory catfish go pictus are probably the easiest species to find.

 

[jmccalip]

Thanks for the suggestions but look at this link:

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=933

It says they grow up to 10". Even 6" would be to big anyway.

Oh well, guess I'm out of luck.

 

[smithrc]

Full grown pictus may also eat the platties but as far as community safe predatory catfish go pictus are probably the easiest species to find.

i did think that.. but wasnt sure about the size difference..

 

[Fishy411]

a dwarf Syno would probly taake care of yur problem.

 

[Oddball]

try banjo catfish

 

[Raechal]

Try a south american bumblebee catfish. I know they carry them at my LPS they might not carry them at yours though. I believe they only get up to 2.2 inches max. I have one in my tank and he ate all of the fry except for 7 lucky fellas that hid at the top. My bumblebee catfish doesn't like coming out of his "log" or making any effort in the daytime to swim anywhere else. They like narrow cracks between rocks and wood to hide out in during the day. They also like leafy vegetation. I keep a few java ferns and amazons in my tank but I've never seen him pay any attention to them. Just make sure you have a dark cave he can hide in during the day.

 

[Dwarfs]

Try a south american bumblebee catfish. I know they carry them at my LPS they might not carry them at yours though. I believe they only get up to 2.2 inches max. I have one in my tank and he ate all of the fry except for 7 lucky fellas that hid at the top. My bumblebee catfish doesn't like coming out of his "log" or making any effort in the daytime to swim anywhere else. They like narrow cracks between rocks and wood to hide out in during the day. They also like leafy vegetation. I keep a few java ferns and amazons in my tank but I've never seen him pay any attention to them. Just make sure you have a dark cave he can hide in during the day.

Really? I saw one of those cats at a store today but resisted it thinking it got a foot long

 

[GuppyDude]

how small are these fry and why wont your adult fish munch on them? i wouldn't recommend a catfish for the job as i know of very few species that will eat only baby fish and wont grow over a foot long. im thinking an anglefish, but ur gouramis might not take to them well..hmm....maybe a platoon of medium sze tetras

 

[jmccalip]

I'm giving my gourami back to my LFS after he terrorized my mollies. 3 of the biggest fry are 1/2 inch long, the rest are tiny. The platies and mollies don't care for them, and the gourami is to lazy to chase a fast little baby. I was about to buy an angel, but my PH is a "little" high.

 

[sylvia]

I'd get a keyhole cichlid...

Anyways, if you go for bumblebee catfish, make sure you get the right species... I believe pseudopimelodius raninus is the small, peaceful one (gets to 4") but there are a few others that get a little bigger and are quite aggressive and that would probably eat your other fish as well as fry .

 

[Blue Lobster]

Be very careful with South American catfish, some of them are considered "Tankbusters" by the guys at planetcatfish.com

They warned me off of a Tiger Shovelnose and a Red Tail Columbian. A picture is worth a thousand words. Want that in your tank?

Most catfish when mature will eat your mollys and anything else it can fit in it's mouth including decor and heaters. Catfish are kinda stupid like that from what I've heard.

Angelfish will eat small fry, are less of a threat and are less aggressive in a community tank.

1 good sized Bala shark would eat the fry and should be easy to get at the LFS.

Be warned, balas jump out of the tank without a good lid. Hardy little buggers though.

 

[Fishy411]

Synodontis ocellifer or a Petricola should be good

 

[Opcn]

You can't get yourself just one Balashark, They like to be with others, and a larger tank would be required.

Gambusa Affinnis Affinnis (mosquitoe fish) are live bearers that have voraceous appetites and they might eat all the fry.